Covid-19 kills 112 more Pakistanis in last 24 hours

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Another 112 people lost their lives due to the third wave of the novel coronavirus infection while 4,976 fresh cases were reported during the last 24 hours (Friday), showed the figures released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday morning.

As per the latest NCOC data, after the addition of 112 more deaths, the toll has now surged to 16,094 while the number of confirmed cases stood at 750,158, after adding 4,976 new ones.

During the past 24 hours (Friday), 4,180 patients have recovered from the virus while the total recoveries stood at 654,956. As of Saturday, the total count of active cases was recorded at 79,108 and the positivity rate dropped at 7.62 percent.

As many as 271,524 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 264,010 in Punjab, 104,480 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 68,906 in Islamabad, 20,760 in Balochistan, 15,304 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 5,174 in Gilgit Baltistan.

Moreover, 7,333 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab, 4,544 in Sindh, 2,832 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 631 in Islamabad, 428 in Azad Kashmir, 223 in Balochistan and 103 in Gilgit Baltistan.

The health facilities across the country conducted 65,279 coronavirus detection tests, taking the total number of COVID-19 tests to 11,072,53 since the first case was reported.

Global developments Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

– China’s Coronavac –

China’s Coronavac vaccine was 67 percent effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 and 80 percent at preventing death, according to real-life results unveiled from Chile’s inoculation campaign.

– J&J verdict –

Europe’s medicines regulator says it expects to rule on the safety of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus jab on Tuesday after vaccinations were put on hold in the US and Europe over blood clot fears.

– Merkel receives AstraZeneca –

Chancellor Angela Merkel receives her first dose of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, more than two weeks after German authorities recommended use of the jab only for people aged 60 and over.

– Al-Aqsa mosque – 

Thousands of Palestinians stream to Al-Aqsa mosque in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on the first Friday of Ramadan, in the largest such gathering since the pandemic.

– $1.7 bln against variants –

The administration of President Joe Biden announces it will spend $1.7 billion to improve its ability to sequence the coronavirus for genetic changes, as dangerous new variants are poised to dominate the pandemic.

– Flight suspension lifted –

Portugal lifts its suspension on flights to and from Britain and Brazil for “essential trips”.

– Easing curbs –

Italy will ease coronavirus restrictions for schools and restaurants from April 26. – German risk list – Germany removes Britain and Northern Ireland from the list of risk zones for coronavirus infections, meaning that travellers will no longer need to quarantine upon arrival.

– Another blow for Games –

A third leg of Japan’s Olympic torch relay is scrapped and a BMX test event is postponed over rising virus cases and uncertainty about the viability of the Games ahead of their opening in July.

– 2.9 million dead –

At least 2,987,891 people have died of Covid-19 around the world since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.

The United States is the worst-affected country with 565,289 deaths, followed by Brazil with 365,444, Mexico with 211,213, India with 174,308 and Britain with 127,191.